Genesis 37:16-26
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 37
16He said, 'I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.' 17Then the man said, 'They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’?' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
19They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer!
20Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!'
21But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands by saying, 'Let’s not take his life.'
22Then Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him'—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.
23So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the multicolored tunic that was on him;
24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25Then they sat down to eat a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying labdanum resin, balsam, and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
26And Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
King James Version
Chapter 37
16And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. 17And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Christian Standard Bible
18They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19They said to one another, "Oh, look, here comes that dream expert!
20So now, come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we'll see what becomes of his dreams! "
21When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, "Let's not take his life."
22Reuben also said to them, "Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him"--intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
New Living Translation
Chapter 37
16I’m looking for my brothers,' Joseph replied. 'Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?'
18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.
19Here comes the dreamer!' they said.
20Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!'
21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. 'Let’s not kill him,' he said.
22Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.' Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.
23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing.
24Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
English Standard Version
Chapter 37
16“I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.
20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
21But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”
22And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.
24And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
New International Version
Chapter 37
16He replied, 'I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?'
17They have moved on from here,' the man answered. 'I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
18But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19Here comes that dreamer!' they said to each other.
20Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams.'
21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. 'Let's not take his life,' he said.
22Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him.' Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
New King James Version
Chapter 37
16So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
18Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!
20Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
21But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”
22And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
23So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
24Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
26So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
